Outdated, old-fashion, sub-par and isolated.

It is not a secret that we have chosen to homeschool for many various reasons. But one of the most silly is that we want to isolate our child and keep him from being around others his own age in a healthy atmosphere of nurture and acceptance and diversity. And, that we are providing a sub-par academic environment.

REALLY?

Let me understand this, by “healthy atmosphere of nurture and acceptance and diversity” you mean the public school, with its bullies, teachers that would threaten the very core of our belief system with an ideology of acceptance of things that we would consider as abhorrent sin against God, and a diversity that would undermine our role as the parent to be the role model instead of the government? Did I understand that correctly?

Let me ponder that one for a moment. So, in our attempt to provide clear instruction for our child, we endeavor to provide Study of God’s Word for redemption, instruction, and inspiration. God holds language in high esteem. With the entire universe at His disposal, He chose the printed word as the primary means of communicating with man. We need to share His exalted view. How do we do that? Study God’s word. It holds the keys to life for this world and the next. This study can be greatly enhanced by understanding the literary forms contained with the Bible. Historical narrative, poetry, proverbs, parables, and letters are some of the genres represented. Literary devices, such as metaphor and parallelism, are often used in biblical poetry. The understanding of a passage can be deepened significantly by interpreting the truth in its literary context.

Even our Dog likes our sub-par academic choices.

Furthermore, we encourage reading. The entertainments and communications of our age via television, movies, video games, email, and the internet are rapidly displacing the quieter, more contemplative habits of reading. It is difficult to hear the still, small voice of God if the volume of our world is always on high. We have some good friends that we are continuing to get to know, mostly via email. They live in a Mennonite community. And while they are not members, they are living many of the ordinances of that lifestyle. One thing that struck at my heart was they do not have a TV. They have chosen to put God first in their education, future college opportunities, and in their home by not inviting the world in. Our family is going to try going off TV for a while this summer to see if we can radically change our lives but eliminating one noise of the world.

By Choosing literature of lasting distinction and skillful craftsmanship, we continue to share God. Look for the beauty or cleverness in a well-worded phrase or carefully developed plot. We work on developing excellent writing skills. Reading excellent literature is the first step to excellent writing. Students can’t model what they don’t even recognize. Skill in spelling, grammar, language mechanics, paragraph and report formats, and careful research procedures are necessary before one can communicate effectively. Well-honed writing entertains, teaches, inspires, and communicates truth. God created language. It shows us His character–one that communicates, one of order. Write well to bear God’s image well.

Are you still thinking that our quest is to isolate our child from good role models, and good peers? Do you still think we are on a quest to deliver a ‘sub-par’ academic future?

Perhaps, our old, out-dated, antique way of thinking, and our limited understanding of the positive influence of an educational system in peril is a little sub-par. Perhaps it is only sub-par to those who do not know or who’s eyes are yet to be opened. We’ll keep our old-fashion approach to academics. Reading, (W)riting, and (A)rithmetic.